


The Greatest Years of Our Lives

by Dressiestsphinx



Category: Call of Duty (Video Games)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Basically like It or Stranger Things, F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, In which everyone lives in a town that's abnormal, M/M, Most of the people listed will be little kids, Not everyone's parents are bad, Rating May Change, Slice of Life, Some are questionable but some are quite sweet and unaware of what's happening, This is an AU, Warnings May Change, With a lot of darker themes, as of now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-08-09 04:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16442945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dressiestsphinx/pseuds/Dressiestsphinx
Summary: Ether, Oregon. Year: 1978The residents of Ether came from all different walks of life with one thing in common: they were people wanting to disappear. A few came from broken households and wanted to start over, two families were escaping hitmen and needed sanctuary, some were simply raised here, and others were only meant to pass through.But Ether, Oregon held far more darker forces in its shadows, forces that are eager to feed on the town's children.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first multi-fic for the Call of Duty: Zombies fandom. It's been about a few years since I've done something like this and I decided to finally revise and publish this. 
> 
> There will be some themes not suitable for everyone. It may be referenced, but that's a fair warning for how this story will progress. I will put warnings for each chapter that may have this if the situation in the chapter becomes intense. 
> 
> Other than that, I hope you stick around with me as I write this. 
> 
> Updates: Depends on my schedule as I do take college classes and have to balance them with my high school courses. Please be patient! I'll figure out a schedule as soon as possible. You may want to turn on notifications if you do wish to stick around with the updates. :)
> 
> Warning for the following chapter: Implied alcoholic parent/Dysfunctional family issues/Marlton Johnson and Abigail Briarton are in a rough spot in their teenage lives at the moment, pray for them.

**_1978   Ether, Oregon_ **

 

It was a small, secluded town that travel maps always forgot to list, not that the town was anything special for travelers to visit anyway. Old, rundown houses lined each other to the point that anyone, if they listened hard enough, could get in on the other house’s conversations through the walls. Cracked streets that were long overdue for a makeover were used by a few residents that were able to afford a car, let alone gas to take them to their tedious jobs. The grass on the street curbs grew in quantity and length, but the flowers that the school’s gardening club planted never did. The elders of the town used to talk about the weather being sunny everyday, but with the abundant rain and cloudy skies, the younger residents believed it to be old men rambling after having too many drinks.

The townsfolk were strange individuals to live in such a place and in conditions that normal people would never stand for. The residents of Ether came from all different walks of life with one thing in common: _they were people wanting to disappear_. A few came from broken households and wanted to start over, two families were escaping hitmen and needed sanctuary, some were simply raised here, and others were only meant to pass through. Whatever the reason, the forests surrounding the town offered protection to some and acted as a barrier for others.

Such as the case for Marlton Johnson, a thirteen-year-old that had ambitions.

* * *

Marlton Johnson was never fond of his environment and he was right to hate it.

He was born and lived in Henderson, Nevada for a while until his father lost his job as an engineer for Titanium Metals Corporation. When his mother’s job at St. Rose Dominican Hospital wasn’t going to help pay for the bills and for his father’s growing obsession for brandy, she packed their bags, ordered her son to get in the back seat of their beige 1958 AMC Ambassador, and took off while his father was passed out on the family couch. It was the first time his mother ever used a travel map (She only ever knew about Henderson and nothing else because in her own words, _“No place ever beats Henderson”_ ) and it was by coincidence that they ended up in Ether. They had only stopped to get gas until the residents found out about his mother’s medical training. They had begged her to stay as the town’s doctor in exchange for a safe place with low bills to be paid. It was enough for his ‘rational’ mother to accept, but not before telling them that the brown, two-story house at the end of the street would be hers.

It would have been a safe place--it was a safe place in the beginning--that they promised her had it not been for the dreadful coincidence that his father found them a month later. That was three years ago and Marlton Johnson was still scared to go home after school.

As much as he tolerated his mother for once being an independent, intelligent lady, he couldn’t find it in himself to go home to the same situation everyday. That independent, intelligent lady was now a servant to her own drunk, delusional husband that paraded the house in his old TMC uniform, who constantly spoke in incoherent sentences about being the best engineer to ever walk this planet and blaming her for running off and picking the worst place to start over. He never did get physical, but the close calls did frighten the woman enough to give her son ten dollars everyday to buy lunch (or dinner, depending on how long his father would finally be sober) at the local diner and to keep him out the house. If he did find courage to go home everyday, his mother would only push him away. He didn't find it in himself to tell the other residents, lest they pity him and his mother.

He didn't want pity. _He just wanted to get out of Ether_. 

With or without his mother, he would leave the second the opportunity came and he would take it. Would he feel homesick? A tinge of loneliness?

_He'll survive_ , he thought as he stabbed his fork into his food without knowing it. His eyes were elsewhere at the moment.

He should feel something about it all--anything--but if he was honest with himself, he could tolerate the loneliness and the diet of cheap, cold spaghetti with tap water, if it meant he could see Abigail Briarton everyday. 

* * *

Thirteen-year-old Abigail Briarton seemed to fit his schedule constantly nowadays ever since the owner of the diner decided that her daughter was old enough to work for her.

She didn’t go to the town’s school, but Marlton could tell from afar that Abigail had plenty of common sense when it came to their reality, something he knew she wouldn’t have learned from the teachers that were miserable at their jobs. She was the daughter of one of the few farmers in the town and he had to admit, spending a dollar and twenty-five cents on three green apples at the local market was worth it to see her.

He had no doubt that she knew about his constant presence at her mother’s diner and at her father’s fruit stand, but he never had the courage to greet her properly. Even before she started working at the diner and the fruit stand, Marlton saw her numerous times like the time he felt something new inside him when he first saw her.

He had been walking home one Sunday morning after he woke up early to collect samples of the dirt to examine when the door to the small, white house that was five houses away from his opened. A woman in her mid-thirties was dressed up in an ugly, yellow dress with an alarming amount of lace and a beige fascinator hat with a big carnation design on the side. One of her pale, manicured hands was wrapped around a more tanner arm of a girl, who glared at her mother. Her mother seemed unfazed by her daughter’s angry, brown eyes as she completely dragged her down the stairs and towards a baby blue 1960 Ford F100 that was parked in their “driveway”.

Abigail never looked at him as she was more occupied with stomping her brand-new shoes in the muddy puddles and using her other hand to pull at the white bow that held her chestnut hair in a tight bun. Her mother only reacted to her tantrum when she realized Marlton standing there, _watching them fall apart_. She bent down and picked up her flailing daughter in her arms as she moved quicker to their car, jerked the back door open, and threw her child in. Marlton looked on as he saw her grit her teeth at the mud now on her ugly, yellow dress and he widened his eyes when she took her loafer off, opened the back door again, and proceeded to beat Abigail.

He ran when he heard her cries;  _it was instinct to run from his experiences_.

When questioned on why they looked so distressed and why they were late to church for once in their impeccable attendance, Abigail’s mother simply confessed with a straight face, according to his mother that evening after he came home when it was safe. He never respected Abigail's mother after that and he realized with regret that Abigail was suffering as well, much more physically than him. He developed a crush on her after that day, knowing he wasn’t so lonely anymore. 

At least for now, until the day he would have to say goodbye.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just Billy Handsome and Abigail Briarton drinking behind Misty's family diner. What kind of messed up stories would come up, right?
> 
>  
> 
> Warning: Mention of suicide (Talked about in at least one sentence but just a heads up), underage drinking and smoking, some adults really need to stop hiding and go ahead and intervene with Misty's drinking problem before it gets bad, Billy's going through issues, and Misty and her mom need some one-on-one which will never happen...at least not right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter summary has the warnings ^-^
> 
> This story isn't going to be very fun.

** _Misty_ **

 

“Think you’ll be up for that treasure hunt next weekend, Misty?”, Billy asked as he handed her his father’s stolen _Amaretto_ , a personal favorite of hers. “Tank, Ed, Nik, and Tak are gonna tag along and I need someone to be with while those lovebirds act all lovey dovey around each other. It’ll just be awkward without you there.”

 

She accepted the _Amaretto_ with a muttered thank you before taking a long sip of the bitter almond-flavored liqueur that would no doubt linger in her breath. She would’ve been afraid long ago, would’ve ran into the diner bathroom and reach under the sink for her emergency toothbrush and toothpaste, and would’ve brushed and brushed until her gums bled, but she stayed behind the diner with fifteen-year-old Billy Handsome as they took turns drinking from the nice-looking bottle.

 

If her mother knew that she was using her breaks to sneak around the back and drink with a boy that was not only two years older than her but also a bad influence on her, Abigail wouldn’t react. Her mother would’ve thrown a fit about something that dealt with personal hygiene and underage drinking with someone that could take advantage of her, but despite the words and blows that would come if she ever found out, Abigail would still continue to drink. Besides, Billy wasn’t really a threat, despite his aggressive tendencies to cause a bit of mayhem. The boy was just a bit ‘challenging’ as his father would say whenever he was called to the school or local jailhouse after Billy was found doing something that not even Sheriff Vincent couldn’t handle. Billy Handsome seemed like a wild card and in some strange way, Abigail admired him for rebelling and being able to get away with it all; he didn’t even get hit for doing so. To Abigail it was only a matter of time before she and Billy became acquainted with each other and it was only for their love for rebelling that brought them together. Another big part was for their love of drinking.  

* * *

 It first started with taking a few sips of her father’s opened cans of _Budweiser_ , until she decided it wasn’t strong enough anymore to make her feel relaxed from the stress.

 

_And constant fear._

 

Her mother’s wine wasn’t an option as she knew the woman was very touchy about her collection. According to her mother every time a suitable guest came in their living room where her collection resided in:

 

_“I, Cordelia Anne Smith Briarton, spent every summer in the Golden State with my humble, prestigious, and hard-working family of vintners before I officially moved with my husband here when I became pregnant. These are just samples of what they crafted before that  godforsaken drought last year left my poor family to look for more... unsatisfactory careers. Can you believe it? I, the youngest daughter to a divine fortune of endless vineyards, forced to serve food now when the money stopped coming from my family? It’s a tragedy for me.”_

Despite her speech that grew bitter each time she brought up her family and their money, Abigail could see that there was a trace of honest grief in her tone; the wine collection was just a reminder of her mother’s good memories from her childhood. Winemaking was the only reason her mother and her controlling family ever got along and without the vineyards anymore, there was no point in contacting them anymore. A hypocritical reason, but Abigail would rather endure her mother than ever meet her mother’s family, who were apparently ‘the bad guys’.

 

The town bar wasn’t optional either; Mr. O’Leary wasn’t one to give his fine whiskey to minors, especially to the daughter of a woman that would not hesitate to confront and expose him in Sunday mass. Finn O’Leary was lucky that Abigail liked him enough to not jeopardize his small business with her presence there; everyone knew that the man hasn’t been himself ever since his wife ran away with a high roller from Vegas who was passing through Ether last year.

 

That only left her with one option.

 

To make things clear, Billy Handsome didn’t come to her to get her hooked on stronger alcohol; she seeked him out and chose what she wanted from his father’s collection. It turns out that _Amaretto_ made her act like her mother, all class and boisterous, and she’s been drinking it since she first started hanging out with Billy last summer at the lake nearby.

 

“I got church on the weekend, dumbass.”, Misty slurred slightly, leaning against the building to support herself. In her dizzy mind, she knows that she was drinking longer sips than Billy, much to the boy’s dismay. She made it clear last time that _Amaretto_ was **_her_** favorite and that he shouldn’t interfere with how much she was drinking from the bottle when they were together. She’s surprised that Billy didn’t kill her behind the diner last time; she was the reason that his right thumb was broken for a while. After taking another longer sip, she smirked at him.

 

“You and I both know Mama’s trying to convert me to get on God’s good side. She keeps tellin’ me it’s not too late for me to be saved.”

 

“Don’t you think it’s a little too late for that?”, Billy asked as he rolled his eyes. He reached into his shirt pocket for a cigarette and the lighter that his father gave him. Misty may have felt dizzy and her vision was blurring slightly, but she noticed his shaking as he took a drag from the lit cigarette. He only calmed down when he released the puff of smoke into the air, sighing lightly with a grin on his face.

 

“Already is for me, anyway.”

* * *

Abigail looked at him strangely then, wondering when Billy decided on that statement.

 

Billy Handsome, the “adopted son of a former mob boss”, as rumours had it when the two moved in quietly less than a year ago. According to Salvatore DeLuca, he owned a small dry cleaners back in the Windy City’s _Little Italy_ , but when construction of UIC's east campus displaced him and began to take a toll on his business, he bought two bus tickets for himself and for his most trustworthy employee. From what Billy told her, Salvatore didn’t actually adopt him. Billy just didn’t want to go back home to the crummy house that he shared with his hard-working father and his ill mother.

 

_They’re going through stuff. Just made their situation a bit better and cheaper_ , he told her once, which happened to be a lie. She later found out that he was living on the streets because his prostitute of a mother kicked him out when she saw the blood of her recent customer on his clothes; Billy only did it when he saw the bruises on his mother. When he found out about Billy’s situation, Salvatore ended up taking him to get the boy to do something better with his life.   

 

According to Billy, they tried to make a living in Portland, Oregon for a few days, but the police corruption and the rise of narcotics made Salvatore think really hard about what he was getting his ‘son’ into. He may not have been Billy’s real father and he essentially kidnapped a willing child, but Billy did help the man from getting into bad ideas. Billy went on and on about Salvatore being stalked and asked by shady individuals back in Portland to come back to Chicago and join the Mob. He would’ve accepted had Billy not been there during those times.

 

So, after earning some money from various jobs (Never working in one job for long to avoid detection), he and Billy hitchhiked south and ended up in Ether when their last driver told them to get out when he found out about Salvatore’s nationality. When he heard about the costs of getting a cheap house in Ether and the possibility of getting a job in town as an assistant to the mayor, he accepted. That was their story and that was all.

 

Whether or not their backstory was all made up and Salvatore DeLuca was really a dangerous man and Billy was actually kidnapped and coped with cigarettes and alcohol to forget the experience, Abigail didn’t care.

 

She didn’t care if his father was trying to make the area better, half of their tax money seemed to ‘disappear’ each time it would be handed over to the mayor. She didn’t care if his father was funding to get better meals sent to the school, she stopped going before she could enjoy the upgrade. She didn’t care if his father was good at his job by intimidating the government officials that did pass through.

 

She was only interested in the alcohol supply that she saw them carry together into the big white house across from hers. When she finally had enough of Budweiser, she went straight to his home with a few dollars from her father’s savings (savings that went into moving out of Ether), knocked on Billy’s front door, and asked him to show her the stronger drinks. He didn’t take the money and only asked for one thing before he gave her an _Amaretto_ right then and there: _A friend_.

 

_“Back in Portland, hell, even back in Chicago, I never did get on anyone’s good side, you know. Let me give you the skinny on my life, Misty: everyone thought and still thinks of me as nothing but trouble. That’s a bit bogue, don’t ya think? I may be...a putz, but I can be decent. Hell, I love country music, I hate jackasses that hurt dogs, I despise folks that talk during movies and talk about the damn weather. See? I’m a fuckin’ human with interests and emotions too!”,_ He said to her at that lake last summer after he smoked his whole pack of cigarettes.

 

She was late for dinner that one time because Billy proceeded to throw himself in the lake and he didn’t come back up.

 

God must have let her off easy for saving a troubled boy from attempting to drown himself by making it rain hard because she didn’t have to make an excuse on why her clothes were drenched when she got home.

 

They ended up telling Salvatore what happened and he thanked her calmly before ushering Billy inside because the boy was shivering and sneezing. He came back to the back of the diner a week later with a container in his hands and two weird-looking necklaces around his neck. After giving her the plastic container that was emitting a very delicious smell (A blessing because she was very hungry and she did not want to pay as a customer), he took one of the necklaces and placed it over to her head.

 

“Sal says that symbol’s a triquetra. He’s a man that values family to the max and he wanted you to have one too. Says he’s mighty thankful you were there when...I was being a putz myself. He knows your mom’s givin’ ya a rough time and your old man ain’t doing shit so...guess he thinks of you as part of our lil’ ragtag family. He says family don’t gotta share the same blood and I reckon he’s right. He saved me from the streets, didn’t he?”

 

She didn’t answer and he gestured to the plastic container in her arms.

 

“He made that too. It’s _chicken scarpariello_ and it’s the best damn thing I ever tasted. He says take care of yourself and lay off the _Amaretto_ ; he loves that stuff too and I can’t keep taking that stuff from him.” They compromised and her limit is now one bottle per month.

* * *

“You know what...I’ll go. I’ll act sick and be discreet about the plans to Mama.”, Abigail declares as she downs the two bottles of water that Billy brought her. He looked at her with a smile as he nodded and muttered a thank you.

 

Abigail smiled back, but not for the same reason. They were ‘family’ and family had to have each other’s backs in the end. This _was_ a big step for Billy to hang out with other people (Salvatore made it clear that he wanted Billy to at least try to make other friends) and the whole ordeal must be terrifying for him. He needed someone to fall back on when the conversations got boring, he needed someone he could trust to calm him if he lost his temper, and he needed someone to hold him back from doing bad decisions.

 

She’s opening the door when she looks back at him with a smirk. The mood seemed down and she wanted to poke at Billy one last time before she had to prepare herself for her shift. Family always poked fun at each other without meaning it.

 

“Promise me though.”

 

“Okay, shoot.”

 

“Don’t bring your cigarettes. Lord knows you’d burn the forest because you don’t put those damn things out.”

 

“Fuck off.”, he says with a grin as she finally goes in with a genuine smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...how about those BOTD ciphers on Billy Handsome? I'm glad there's more on his backstory as well as the other mobsters. I waited five years for character development and redemption!
> 
> I'm happy that even Billy enjoys country music too ^-^
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed and hope you stick around :) 
> 
> You'll meet the others eventually. Billy and Misty's 'treasure hunt' with the boys won't be until next weekend and there's enough time to get everyone's story time in here ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward clues in about the treasure hunt to Thomas. There's something in the woods that he's curious about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really any warnings in this chapter, except a reference to Stanton Shaw's drug addiction, discussing a bit of blood, and rabbits being killed for unknown reasons so far. Other than that, just Thomas and Edward interactions.
> 
> In case anyone didn't know, Dempsey's real name is Thomas (or Ringo, according to Monty but I'm calling Dempsey Thomas). He won't acquire his nickname until later on in life...or in this fic.

_ (One week later) _

 

**_Edward_ **

 

“What kind of treasure hunt is it this time, Eddie?”, Thomas asked for the third time this morning as he and Thomas were seated in the  _ Science  _ and  _ Science Fiction  _ section of Ether’s public library. “You’ve been keeping it from me for three whole weeks!”

 

Edward didn’t have time to explain his findings at the moment, all he knew is that he was only at the beginning of a mystery that needed to be unraveled quickly. The fifteen-year-olds have been here since the library’s opening hours and so far Edward’s eyes were focused on the pictures underneath the paragraph he finished up, examining them all thoughtfully before moving on to the next paragraph. No detail in this investigation could go unnoticed for Edward and he was happy that there were plenty of books here that could help just a bit. For three whole weeks, none of the books that he selected could give him a straight answer, but a small nudge couldn’t hurt, no matter how ‘futile’ his investigation was progressing so far.

 

Despite being a town with little to no resources to improve the lives of its residents, Ether’s mayor believed it was for everyone’s sake to improve the town’s library. Despite the improvement of the building as a whole and the increase of books being mailed in by a few benefactors that were willing to pay for them (one of which was the former mob boss Salvatore DeLuca), the elders of the town disapproved, of course, about the mayor’s decision. Russman, the oldest elder that lived in the old shack at the edge of the woods, spoke in vain about the decision, believing it was a waste to do such a thing instead of commissioning for new facilities to improve the human condition in Ether. Edward remembered the day Russman came in to speak with his class on Career Day three years ago. Russman may not have been the best choice to be a speaker and he may not have been properly dressed for the day, but even Edward (and the rest of the class) could respect the oldest member of the community. He may not have told tales about city corruption like Sheriff Vincent did or tales about the ups and downs of drug addictions like Mr. Shaw tried to tell before he was escorted out by Vincent when the man pulled out a bottle of Laudanum and proceeded to down the contents in front of the children, but Russman was still a ‘unique’ character that day.

 

To live an entire life in Ether could provide anyone knowledge on how to exactly survive in it. 

 

_ “You kids won’t get far with education. Russman’s been here since...shit, I can’t even remember. All Russman can ask you young folks is when books do anythin’ good ‘round here? Never. Can’t kill dinner with a book, you gotta shoot it. Can’t build your home up with books, gotta chop down some trees to give ya shelter. You wanna do your time here, you go on ahead. The second you get out of here, let’s see how far them book smarts will get ya in town. Outside Ether, city folks will respect book smarts, but here, you better learn how to survive than waste your time on ABC's n’ 123’s.” _

 

Abigail Briarton, the girl that sat next to him in class, ended up leaving school a month later. Marlton Johnson, the new student and resident back then, ended up taking her empty seat. 

* * *

He could drop out, work until he made enough money and gained enough knowledge through manual labor to be well-fed and be sharp like Abigail was nowadays, but what would his adopted father say? It was bad enough for Maxis, him, and Samantha to flee Germany when tensions between West and East Berlin grew worse, bad enough for Maxis to wake up from nightmares about the horrors of the war that he witnessed when he was a young adult, but to see Edward give up on his dreams so soon? Maxis had a lot to say about the Briarton household from the way Cordelia Briarton was nothing but a she-devil in brand clothing to Mr. Briarton being the most oblivious simpleton to marry a woman of her nature. Abigail Briarton wasn’t safe from his criticism.

 

So the decision of following the path that Abigail Briarton took would only make Maxis keelover at the thought of ‘a bright, young boy’ giving up on his education. Even the thought of doing that, ceasing his journey of gaining as much knowledge as he possibly could for a life outside of Ether, made Edward feel terrible for thinking such a thing in the first place. 

 

Besides, the questions that he had about his findings in the woods couldn’t be answered with Russman’s logic. No one could be able to answer his questions. The books in Ether’s library was his last resort.

 

So here he was with the only other person that loved him tremendously enough to make sure he didn’t give up on his pursuits. This new mystery was taking a toll on Edward’s sleeping schedule, but he knew it was important to find any information that he could here in the early hours of Saturday. Thomas could sense it was that important to him and he was thankful when Thomas tried to bring some comfort for him by bringing the bean bag from the  _ Children’s Books _ section of the library to their little area for Edward to sit on instead of the floor. Still, he could sense Thomas’ frustrations with him for ‘ignoring’ him, but Thomas couldn’t even begin to understand. 

 

_ How could anyone explain and understand the findings of rabbit remains on peculiar-looking altars in the woods? _

 

He had only stumbled on the sight three weeks ago when he was practicing on how to track game like the way Russman showed his class (Back when he was really thinking about dropping out of school). These were footprints belonging to about four rabbits, four different sets of footprints all going in one direction as if they were being lead with the promise of treats (the small, orange piece from what probably came from a carrot near one set only confirmed it). Edward followed the tracks until they vanished at the edge of the small creek that separated Russman’s hunting ground of the forest and whatever laid beyond the creek. He would’ve left, accepted the fact that ‘dinner’ escaped, but the small spatter of blood on the rock that he was standing on caught his attention. He looked at it a bit longer, bent down, and touched the liquid between his fingers. 

 

_ “If ya see blood n’ there ain’t no body to be found, chances are that animal fought n’ lost to whatever bigger animal came for it. If it’s fresh blood, don’t try to size up, don’t be like the animal that lost. Bird, rabbit, deer, human, don’t matter what it is to bigger animals. It’s a food chain out in the woods n’ there’s plenty of hungry, bigger animals that’ll take you off the top of that chain if it means they can get seconds. My advice: turn back.” _

  
  


**_The blood was still fresh._ ** __

 

When he looked across the short distance to the other side of the creek, a trail of blood spatters on the dead leaves lead deeper into the woods. Like the fool that he was to be obsessed with whatever knowledge he could obtain and ignoring Russman’s logic, he jumped the short distance and followed the trail, running after whatever laid ahead.

* * *

“There are three types of velocities when it comes to blood spatters, Thomas. Those velocities are high, medium, and low. Tell me,  mein schatz, how are they different? ”, Edward asked suddenly, looking up from his reading of a forensic science book. Thomas, who was sprawled on the floor with one of the books (a book dealing with different cults throughout history) that Edward asked for him to carry when his arms were too full, looked up at him in confusion. He pondered on the question for a while before clearing his throat.

 

“From what Russman said about blood spatters, it all depends on what bigger animal killed the loser. Bears might leave some bloodstains, random crocodile with a nasty bite might cause some blood spatters to be left behind as the loser’s dragged in the creek, but that’s all I can say, love.” 

 

“What about a human being as the ‘bigger animal’ in this case? What if I were to tell you that I believe there is something going on in the deep woods and it wasn’t the work of some wild animal?”, Edward asked as he returned back to his reading, leaving an even more confused Thomas to question him further.

 

“What the hell are you even talkin’ about, Eddie?”, Thomas asked seriously. Edward looked up to see that Thomas was now invested in his findings, more than ever before in the last three weeks. 

 

“Thomas, I found dead rabbits in the woods.”

 

“So? If someone killed them and left them out there, that’s a waste of a good m-”

 

“They were on altars that formed a circle in the deep woods! Their blood was drained from their throats being sliced open when I studied them closer and one in particular did not die of blood loss. There was evidence of head trauma, perhaps from a bat or something to cause a fatal blow. I suspect that whoever the little rabbits’ predator was, saw one of them was about to run when they reached the creek. That’s where I stumbled upon the low velocity blood spatters. As for the trail, I suspect it was from the...murder weapon.”

 

Thomas looked away, focusing on the rug as if it was the most interesting thing in the library (Which in the case for Thomas, Edward knew his love would rather do that than ever actually read). Thomas looked down at the book in his hands as he sat up in a seated position. 

 

“You don’t think the cults in the press are here? I mean...why here? There’s nothin’ special about Ether that’s even worth conjuring up whatever demon they worship.”

 

“Nein, Ether is the last destination for any of these cults to thrive in.”, Edward motioned to the book in Thomas’ hands, looking at it with disappointment.

 

“I checked that book out the same day I stumbled upon the area. With the markings on the altars still fresh on my mind, I thought I could look it up in there because I assumed they were writings of Satanism but I found nothing. Not even the other cults listed in that book had ever mentioned any of the letters I saw.”

 

“A new cult in Ether’s deep woods then?”, Thomas asked, placing the book down. Edward shrugged, closing the forensic science book in his lap after he was done reading for today. He stood up from the bean bag to place the book back into the empty slot of the  _ Science  _ bookshelf. 

 

“I have my doubts about that, but as a future scientist, I can not eliminate any factors. Perhaps it could be the start of a new cult or it could be a tasteless prank, but whatever it is, I need to go study it again.” He crouched down on his haunches to look at Thomas in the eyes. 

 

“That’s why I would appreciate it if you, Nikolai, and Takeo can come with me this weekend. I got lucky last time to not run into anyone, but I would not want to test my luck once more.” Suddenly, Edward reached out and stroked Thomas’ cheek in the way his father would do to calm his mother before their deaths. Thomas wasn’t scared, but the boy did complain that Edward was being neglectful of his time with research and books rather than with him. Edward did promise that they would go out on their first date eventually…

 

“Perhaps we can have a picnic in the woods before we venture any further in? Maxis does possess the ability of making a delectable Eintopf.”, he chuckled awkwardly as he moved his hand away and stood up. “You know, since you did have an interest in trying German cuisine.”

 

Thomas grinned as he jumped up to his feet with the cult book. “Still do, mein...shots?” 

 

Edward threw the bean bag at Thomas, as he strode past him with an annoyed look on his face. He looked back at a bewildered Thomas, placing a finger to his lips in a shushing manner.

  
“There is to be no talking in the library, Thomas. You should know the rules by now,  _ mein schatz _ .”, he whispered in a teasing manner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edward couldn't find anything resembling the letters on the altars in the cult book. Perhaps the language isn't meant for human...
> 
> Or they're looking in the wrong book...
> 
> Mein Schatz - My darling (Thomas mispronounces it wrong and it's referencing how it sounded to me when Google Translate pronounced it).
> 
> Good to know that the Berlin Wall wouldn't be demolished til 1989. Here, Samantha and Edward weren't born around the time WW2 started and ended, but they were born near the time the Berlin Wall was built. In this story, I like to think Maxis was born around 1920 (He would've been around 25 yrs old when WW2 ended and he's seen some stuff during his time there growing up). As of now, he's around 58 (an okay time to be a father to two teenagers).
> 
> For the gay pairings listed in the tags and the fact that it's 1978...will they face any nasty comments from other residents or the elders? Welcome to Ether, where people (Especially the elders) don't care about anything but what you're willing to do to help this poor town out!
> 
> (Again, I'm sorry for the long wait. Finals, tests, life, and people are always affecting my writing. Hope you enjoyed though!)

**Author's Note:**

> An AU in which forces like the zombies, Apothicons, anyone really seem to be linked to this small town. The first few chapters will be establishing characters and their different backstories. 
> 
> Obviously, I went over Marlton's (Emotionally abusive, drunk father and a mother that's pushing Marlton away so he doesn't have to go through it) and Misty (Her mother's a bit of a hothead when it comes to impressions and will go off if Abigail tries to ruin that. Not much is known about her father yet.)
> 
> Criticism is appreciated. Go easy on me, I haven't been writing stories lately and I'm already taking a big step by doing this. Hope you enjoyed!


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